I’ve been las-morochas for six weeks till now, which means 1/13 of my life far away from my family and homecountry has gone. I hope the flollowing days could pass faster and faster. 

During the six months I didn’t write one letter about the life here. It’s not because I’m so busy that have no time to write, but when I can write something freely, I have no internet access and have no even laptop with me. Besides, I feel it’s very hard to explain life in oilfield to people out of this industry, even when I talk it with my family and boyfriend. I remember very clearly the days when I prepared for the entrance exam of graduate school solely, the days changed between confident and anxious, steady and doubtful periodically, the kind of feeling that nobody can really understand your pain and give you effective help except yourself. Through these six weeks I reviewed that pain and feeling, and I think I get more clear about the best way to get rid of a fear is to place yourself in the difficulty and do something. When you begin to deal with it, it will be easier than you imagine.

Now I’ll try to describe my life objectively, and since it’s hard to be objective, it may be the last time I would write about it.

In fact the biggest problem is language barrier. Most people here don’t speak or understand English, even in the company. In the people I have met here, just field engineers and 2 field specialists can speak english with me, all else are just Spanish speaker. And most important, our clients are native oil company and their working language is Spanish of course. As a result, all of meetings, job proposals, documents are used Spanish. For such kind of people lack of  language talent like me, it’s horrible. I use 10 years to learn english and still can’t express myself exactly, it’s not possible to learn spanish quickly. At the beginning I was rather angry why even people who has colledage eduction can’t speak English, why the company don’t tell us Spanish is mandatory here before I came here. Now I can face the fact, but still feel lack of courage to learn a new language from 0. There are too much things I have to learn from 0. So until now, I just can speak simple greeting phrases, and choose to be a dump girl most of time.

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to be continued… When I update this draft, I have been 7 weeks here now. Let me check how much time I can finish this…

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spot announcement

I came back from a job in the Lake which lasted 5 days and finally suspended… Now I’m stuggling with the post-job paperwork. When I escape from graduate school, I thought I can breat out from paper, report. Now, I just find paperwork is so so so important, in whatever job you choose…

I can’t take the notebook back to my staffhouse, and i can’t write blog in work time, and i’m lazy, :) .So I guess it’ll take me very very long time to finish that. For people who concern me, thank you very much! I’m ok, not so negative as my writing appears, :).

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Updated

Compared to language, the other problems seems no big deal, though i believe most of my girl friends, work in tidy and comodious office tower, dress pretty and decent, will never like this job. Before I came here, when I saw the pictures or work videos, pumps, chemicals, noise, oil stain, unpleasant mixed dormitories, I doubted if I can adapt it. But when I came here, get into the barge, all of these seems natural. In fact when I put on the blue coverall, I and the other people forget about my gender. I thought why company choose me to the field for many times. I’m definitely not that kind of person very curious and energetic, eagar to try, learn and explore more new and different things. Now I think Schlumberger may prefer 2 kinds of people, the first is of course that kind i described, the other is not so active, but is responsible and practical, and don’t ask too much about life. I think I may be the second one.

The first month is really difficult. For many resons I couldn’t buy a venezuela simcard until one month later, and since we can’t take laptops back, we don’t have internet home, I can’t use skype in the company network… it’s rather difficult for me to contact my family. Now it’s much better, though other problems come out, :). It seems that everytime I just fix one others will pop out. But from a optimistic view, maybe i can take it as everytime a problem pops out, you can find a way to figure it out finally.

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Updated

Well, I really never thought that I can’t finish it during 3 months preschool…

After the first months, things went on much better. I bought a simcard in Venezuela, and found a way to make cheaper call to China. I think I will never forget when I first got my boyfriend’s call nearly one month after I arrived VE (there is no fix phone in my staff house and I don’t want to use my roomate’s cellphone), the feeling is so complicated, I could say nothing and just crying for half an hour. And then we found even use Skype, the fee is still not nice if call Venezuela cellphone…

Although the language problem still existed, but the people in my base are really nice. My roomate is a very beautiful, intelligent(She doesn’t like people just pay attention to her face, haha, she is already a GFE) and kind girl. For those job supervisors and helpers, although most of them don’t speak English, but they are so consolidate and acute, they could always find some emotional “turbulence” of me and then make jokes to let me laugh. Once I gave them hands to do something, they will say i’m a good partner. That always make me feel guilt bcz I just can help a little. For those guys who can speak English, I always bother them to help with some questions and they are so patient. Sometimes I can’t explain quite well, they also can’t exactly describe what they mean, but they will still try, repeat, to make me clear. And they looks even happier then myself when I finally understand… They are the people who exposed to tough and dangerous enviorment, they are those who do the most exausting job, they are those who on the first line to make contribution. I highly respect them, maybe partially because the father of my boyfriend is also a worker in oilfield, ^_^.

The third month of my preschool was tough again. Because I had to prepare for the entrance exam of OTS, and had so many task lists unfinished. I think I really lack of Initiative. I didn’t know I have to do so many things until I got the letter from OTS 4 weeks before the school. Although most of the tasks could be found in some references, but I didn’t check them or really pay attention, just did what I thought I should do instead. Although I was also a software Engineer. But that “Engineer” is too different with “Engineer” in production industry. I didn’t know I should operate the pumps, pods several times by myself, I didn’t know I should know which kind of oil we use in Powerend…